Manchester City forward Jack Grealish revealed that being left out of England’s squad for the European Championship (Euro) 2024 squad was the "most difficult thing I have had to deal with in my career".
England lost to Spain in the final of the tournament as a late strike by Mikel Oyarzabal ended their hopes of lifting the title. This was their back-to-back defeat in Euros as they also lost to Italy on penalty shootout in 2021.
A week before the tournament started, Grealish was used as a substitute during England’s warm-up match against win against Bosnia-Herzegovina at St James' Park which they won 3-0. But the forward was not named in Gareth Southgate’s final 26-man squad.
"When you are on your holidays, every time you turn on the phone or the TV you just see it [the tournament], so it was hard not to see," Grealish said.
"I'll be honest, football-wise it was the most difficult thing I've ever had to deal with in terms of my own career.
"I was absolutely heartbroken. For myself now moving forward, I have to just try and use that as motivation going into this season."
Grealish joined Man City on a British record £100m from Aston Villa in August 2021, a month after he played against Italy in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
"I felt I should have been in the [England] squad," added Grealish, who was speaking on City's pre-season tour of the United States.
"I feel like I offer something different to players in the England squad. But it is what it is.”
"As I said, it was the hardest moment for me as a footballer. I've had a lot of ups and downs in my career," he said.